Garden Grove Journal
It took Garden Grove High 54 years (1945 to 2009) to get to the CIF football finals the last time. Now, if the Argonauts can get past Northwood in a Southern Division semifinal match Friday night at Garden Grove Stadium, it’ll be their second straight trip to that lofty perch.
The Argonauts (11-1) are top-seeded and favored to win the Southern title, but Northwood (8-3-1) will be a formidable test. The Timberwolves competed in the tough Pacific Coast League and offer a balanced attack.
Northwood’s chief weapon is the pass. Ricky Bautista has thrown for 2256 yards so far in 2010, good for 25 touchdowns (compared to seven interceptions). His favorite receivers are Tyler Zorn (44 catches, two TDs), Jake Nieber (42 catches, seven TDs) and Reed Gubernick (39 catches, three TDs).
On the ground, the chief ball-carrier is Shane Boukorras, who has rushed for 1,038 yards and nine touchdowns.
Grove, champions of the Garden Grove League and last year’s Southern Division runner-up, will counter with Josh Webb, who’s scored 32 touchdowns and passed for 16 more. As a rusher he has 1097 yards and is averaging 9.2 yards a carry.
Webb shares quarterbacking duties with Jovani Duran, who is more of a classic drop-back passer than the scampering Webb. Duran has thrown for 1341 yards and 16 scores.
The two teams have faced a pair of common opponents, Los Amigos and Woodbridge. The T-Wolves batted Los Amigos 35-7, but the Argos prevailed 62-7. Northwood bested Woodbridge 42-14, while Grove won 65-43.
